My older daughter, now 17 did Challenge A in 8th grade and her younger sister will be starting Challenge A this fall. She did not spend six hour a day doing course work but I think the aforementioned descriptions of may be a bit more simplified than they actually are in reality. For instance she memorized the entire globe which is why geography took so much time, in fact a ton of time. There is also list of things to memorize for apologetics that you will need to factor into the that subject. This probably still won't have you at an hour a day for that strand, but it is something to be aware of. In science she did very detailed drawings and wrote fairly lengthy papers. Much of what you get out of the class depends on your tutor, student and what you want to get out of the program. At the end of the day it is you the parent who determines the work load. If you have a busy week and decide to only write a sort snippet for science, that is acceptable. If you feel like your student is capable of more, it is your decision as parent to require it. HTH

Would you mind sharing why you like the Science Shepherd, how it compares to Apologia, assuming you know and if you would use if with a 6th grader? Julie

Thanks much, I will take a look.

Does anyone feedback on Shepherds Science, Life Science? Am considering it for my DD who will be in 6th grade next year, she has not enjoyed anything by Apologia, and hates note booking. Have been through a good deal of Jay Wile's Science in the Beginning, and she is not loving it. Suggestions?

Thanks so much for your feedback, I appreciate it!

Thanks ladies! I will check out The Way We Work, sounds intriguing.

Could you elaborate a bit more on this program and what you liked about it? I am considering this, but did not have success with their level 1 materials, this one looks different.....

Thanks for your reply. Would you mind sharing what you have really enjoyed? I am toying with what to do next with my almost 11 year old daughter. We have do many STEM projects along with Apologia Your Explorers Chemistry and Physics. While I like this text better than many I have used, I looking for something different. Looking at Elemental Science, but did not like NOEO, also think the REAL Science Biology 2 looks more engaging than many of the level 1's.

For those of you who have been using Jay Wile's Science in the Beginning could you please provide an update, pro's/con's, why you like or dislike it, etc. Does this curricula seem like a good forerunner to General Science or something comparable? Thoughts on if it is meaty enough for 5th/6th graders? Thanks!

You might give this a look, it is free, and you could notebook or lapbook with it :http://www.eequalsmcq.com/classicsciinfo.htm

I had great luck with AAS, but I confess I am not passionate about spelling around here, nor do I give it a ton of time. I think it comes down to if you want something workbooky and less parent involvement or more time from you and less workbooky.

I did this with my older kids a couple of times and quite frankly, it never really came out like I had envisioned. However, my youngest had a suffered the loss of a beta and instead of flushing the little guy, we mummified him and it worked beautifully, several years later it still looks great. I would skip the chicken.

Yes, you can use TT without the textbook. My daughter has done several levels without one. I have one now to save time writing some of the problems, but even still she hardly uses it. If there are extra print out available on the CD's I have not stumbled on to them. HTH

:iagree:

Thanks, that is great feedback!

Wow Algebra right after Singapore, my daughter has done Singapore 6 and I am pretty sure she still would not be ready for algebra.

Thanks for all the input, tons to think about.

Great suggestion, will do.

Thanks Melissa, will do.

Thanks so much for all the feedback! Lisa I think we share a similar plight in terms of the various math curriculums. My daughter appears to be ready for most other algebra curriculums, but I don't see her passing the pre test for AoPS algebra. Considering the level of difficulty I am not positive it is a good fit, but I think the approach may be a good fit for her personality.

Curious if those of you who are using the pre algebra can provide a little feedback. Do you consider AoPS pre algebra to be comparable to to a Saxon, Jacobs, etc algebra?

Will do thanks a bunch!

Thanks for you help! Would you say that the pre algebra is more comparable to a traditional algebra course? My daughter is not mathy, necessarily, but is very good at puzzling things out. I had her do some of the sample problems and she seemed to get the approach. It is hard to base a math decision on sample problems.

As l ponder this algebra curriculum I am wondering how it compares to a Jacobs, Saxon, Chalkdust etc. Can anyone shine some light on this? Would this be a good choice for an abstract thinking child?

Thanks for input. :) Think I will spring for it.